


Brothers

by hanzoshimadas



Series: More Than Just Numbers, We're Brothers [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Brother Feels, Brotherly Bonding, Childhood Trauma, Drug Addiction, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Abuse, Psychological Trauma, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 14:32:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17851367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanzoshimadas/pseuds/hanzoshimadas
Summary: The next time he saw Klaus, he was different. Even more different than usual.His brother was always the eccentric one of the group, on or off drugs. He had his own style, his own Klaus-isms, none of which filled the expectations of typical gender norms, but he didn't give a shit.Whether he was dressing up with Allison, walking around with painted nails and braids in his hair, or wearing dresses for real, all that made Klaus who he was, and he was proud of his little brother for being so unapologetically himself.This Klaus though, the one sat in the passenger seat, was a very different person, and he didn't like that at all.





	Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> I loved Klaus and Diego's brotherly relationship in the show so I wanted to explore that more. Enjoy.
> 
> Note: The number order of the siblings refers to their age. Diego is an older brother to Klaus and Ben.

The house was quiet. Father had left just over a week ago; stating that he had business to attend to and that he needed Klaus' help. It all seemed a little strange, but he knew not to ask questions, it never seemed to end any differently, just a whole lot of being ignored, or some bullshit deflection that didn't answer anything.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sniffling and extremely light sobs.  
  
Diego rushed to the door and opened it to see Klaus looking pale and white as a sheet, a terrified expression on his face, eyes dazed.  
  
"Klaus?"  
  
The younger boy turned to him, but there was no sign of recognition.  
  
Diego guided him into the room and sat him down on the edge of the bed, taking the spot next to his little brother.  
  
"Klaus, what's wrong?"  
  
"They won't shut up. They're worse than they were, and there's more of them. They're so loud and angry." His hands rushed up to clamp over his ears as tears began to trickle down his cheeks.  
  
"Who won't?"  
  
There was a loud hammering on the door which caused Klaus to jump.  
  
"Number four; go to your own room, now!" Father demanded.  
  
Klaus was shaking heavily as he got to his feet and headed towards the door.  
  
"Hey..." He called after him.  
  
His little brother turned to look.  
  
Diego quickly grabbed a notepad and scribbled down.  
  
' _If you get scared in the night come back here, okay?_ '  
  
Klaus smiled a little and nodded before he left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
Diego sighed, flopping backwards on the bed.

* * *

It was years later that Klaus finally had enough and left the house.  
  
There was no note, no trail, nothing.  
  
And that was eight months ago.  
  
Diego couldn't find him, and not for lack of trying. He's searched the whole city for his brother and came up with nothing, the little shit knew how to hide, and it was working.  
  
He only had small tidbits from locals to work from, some able to recall having seen Klaus around, but none able to pinpoint a location of where he might be.  
  
They all spoke of him the same though. And they all gave the same description.  
  
'I think he's homeless.'  
  
In a manner of speaking, he always had been. The academy was never a home to Klaus, his little brother being sure to make that known at any opportunity, usually straight to Father's face during their frequent arguments. But this was different.  
  
It was a lead from a waitress that sent him to the South side. Making his way down the river pass, he found him.  
  
Klaus was lying asleep atop a filthy mattress under the bridge, his arms as a pillow, clothes having seen better days.  
  
"Klaus... Klaus..."  
  
His little brother groaned as he flickered an eye open.  
  
"Fancy meeting you here."  
  
"Get up, we're leaving."  
  
"...'m not going home, Diego." Klaus answered mid-stretch.  
  
"Never said you were. Come on, I have space at my apartment."  
  
He grabbed his little brother's bag before leading him back to the car.

* * *

His phone began to ring, answering it, it was Patch.  
  
"Diego."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Someone left a note, they have your brother. They're at the motel."  
  
Diego's eyes widened.  
  
"Shit. Thanks for telling me." He hung up the call before turning to Luther. "Get Five out of here."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"I need to find Klaus." He rushed off to his car.

* * *

Reaching the motel, he sprinted up the stairs to the rooms, listening close to each door for signs of a struggle.  
  
"Mmm, mmmmmm." He heard, eyes widening as he kicked down the door.  
  
The distressed call seemed to be coming from the closet. Making his way over, he cautiously pulled open the doors to reveal Klaus tied to a chair, duct tape over his mouth.  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
Klaus was a mess, blood covering each inch of his chest, arms, and face, with a sluggishly bleeding head wound to match.  
  
He immediately recognised the same expression of horror on his little brother's face from all those years ago back at the academy.  
  
"Klaus... Klaus... it's okay, you're gonna' be okay. Let's get you out of here."  
  
He pulled the chair from the closet and began to cut away his brother's bindings, making a quick detour to turn on the light, which seemed to make a difference almost straight away to Klaus, his shaking seeming to calm slightly as he was able to find breaths.  
  
Diego carefully removed the tape from his mouth before helping him up.  
  
"We need to get you out of here."  
  
Talking could be heard outside before Klaus' eyes widened.  
  
"It's them." Klaus' wrecked voice spoke up for the first time.  
  
Diego looked around the room and noticed the vent.  
  
"It's the only way out; I'll catch up, okay?"  
  
Klaus nodded before stumbling over and beginning to climb through, taking the briefcase blocking his way with him.

* * *

The next time he saw Klaus, he was different. Even more different than usual.  
  
His brother was always the eccentric one of the group, on or off drugs. He had his own style, his own Klaus-isms, none of which filled the expectations of typical gender norms, but he didn't give a shit.  
  
Whether he was dressing up with Allison, walking around with painted nails and braids in his hair, or wearing dresses for real, all that made Klaus who he was, and he was proud of his little brother for being so unapologetically himself.  
  
This Klaus though, the one sat in the passenger seat, was a very different person, and he didn't like that at all.  
  
They stopped at a veteran's club and after allowing his brother some privacy, he made the decision to check up on him.  
  
Inside his little brother was crying. Actually crying at a photo on the wall which he was caressing softly.  
  
Before he could ask more, a vet told Klaus that he needed to leave and all hell broke loose. He stepped in to save his brother from getting a beating before guiding him back to the car.  
  
"I think we need to talk."  
  
But Klaus didn't answer, head leaning against the window as he stared out.  
  
Diego sighed before starting the engine and driving away.

* * *

He took him back to the house. Despite how much he didn't want to, it was the safest place for them right now with Cha-Cha and Hazel on their tail, and the police now joining the party.  
  
Klaus was sat on the couch looking blank; a sob escaped his lips before he turned his head towards nothing and whispered, low and quiet, body shaking as he wiped away tears from his eyes.  
  
He continued to keep his eyes trained towards the nothing, pupils following something's movement, occasionally giving small nods in response before he eventually calmed.  
  
Diego walked in and took a seat beside him.  
  
"You still using?"  
  
"I'm the most sober I've been in years... isn't that great?!" Klaus laughed, breaking off halfway, lowering his head as he coughed, wrapping an arm around his stomach with a light hiss.  
  
"You don't look so good."  
  
Klaus looked towards nothing once again before smirking.  
  
"Yeah, and he calls himself the observant one."  
  
Diego furrowed an eyebrow.  
  
"Klaus, who are you talking to?"  
  
"Ben. He's just happy that someone finally noticed."  
  
Diego's stomach dropped at those words before he took a breath.  
  
"Ben's dead, Klaus. He died when we were kids, remember?" He explained, softly.  
  
"We know."  
  
"No, there's no we about it." He found himself losing his temper a little. "Don't do this; don't lie about things like that. Not about Ben."  
  
Klaus looked small as he replied. "I'm not lying."  
  
Diego bit his tongue before walking out of the room.

* * *

"DIEGO!"  
  
He threw back the chair he was sat on and sprinted through the house.  
  
Klaus was still in the living room where he'd left him earlier, but was lying on the floor, arms tightly wrapped around his stomach.  
  
Diego knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
"You need to tie me up, please."  
  
Diego was confused but with Klaus, sometimes you just don't question it. He wrapped his arm around his little brother and helped him to his feet.  
  
"Come on, we'll do it upstairs."

* * *

After finding the supplies he'd need to secure Klaus, he began tying him to the chair.  
  
"So why do you have me doing this exactly?"  
  
"There's something I need to do and the whole pesky thing doesn't seem to work until I'm sober."  
  
"Is this about conjuring the one you lost?" He asked, softly. "What was her name?"  
  
" _His_ name was Dave."  
  
Diego smiled.  
  
"Well, Dave must have been a very special person to put up with all your wierdass shit."  
  
Klaus smirked, actually smiling too.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah he was. He was kind, and strong, and vulnerable, and beautiful."  
  
"Klaus, I'm so sorry about whatever happened."  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
He furrowed an eyebrow.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I need to pee."

* * *

One toilet break, and an argument later, Klaus was back tied up again in the chair.  
  
This time he was not so down with the idea of why he had to do this, bucking and squirming to try and get loose.  
  
"You need to do this Klaus, for yourself and for Dave. I'm right here, okay? I'm not leaving you."  
  
"No, no, no, no, no..." His little brother whispered. "Let me out. Dad, let me out, please."  
  
Diego's eyes widened.  
  
"What?!"  
  
The light in the room flicked on somehow.  
  
He moved closer to his little brother.  
  
"Klaus... hey, bud, come on. You're okay. Look at me. Look at me."  
  
Klaus' eyes rose to his own.  
  
"You're here with me, okay?"  
  
He tearfully nodded.  
  
"I don't want to drench anything up, but what did you mean, 'Dad let me out'."  
  
His little brother looked broken in that moment, head dropping to avoid eye contact as he shook.  
  
"Hey, it's just me, bud, talk to me. What did Dad do?"  
  
"He locked me up... in the mausoleum. I was in there for a week and the ghosts, they were so loud. They just didn't shut up, and it was dark."  
  
Diego felt both furious and ill at his little brother's words.  
  
"He did what?!..." His tone was low before he took a breath to calm himself. "Klaus, you're not there, and Dad's dead. Good riddance, right?"  
  
Klaus smirked with a nod.  
  
"You are doing amazing wanting to get clean, I'm proud of you. We just need to keep going, you've got this, bud."  
  
"Okay." Klaus nodded.

* * *

Two hours later and Klaus was talking to nothing again.  
  
"I can't do this, Ben, I can't..."  
  
"Klaus... please stop." Diego asked. "Ben's not here."  
  
"He's been here more than any of you guys have."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" He furrowed an eyebrow.  
  
"You only give a shit when you feel like getting some brother brownie points, and I don't see any of the others taking an interest. Ben helps me when no one else does."  
  
"Is that really why you think I'm here?"  
  
"I don't even know anymore, and I'm too tired to care."  
  
"You're an asshole, you know that? And you wonder why no one sticks around to help. Maybe it's because everything's a joke to you, and you treat everyone like shit."  
  
Diego took a breath, already regretting his outburst.  
  
"Klaus, I..."  
  
"Fuck off, Diego."

* * *

He knew something was going on when the chandelier fell from the ceiling and smashed into thousands of tiny pieces.  
  
"Fuck!" Diego rushed to his feet and sprinted upstairs. "Klaus!"  
  
"Untie me, please!" His brother screamed as he entered the room.

He nodded, cutting away the rope.  
  
"The academy, it's coming down. We need to get out of here and find Mom. Come on, one, two, three..." Diego quickly grabbed his brother, bringing him to his feet before supporting him out the room and down the stairs.  
  
Klaus looked up and noticed the falling debris before it struck him a few seconds later, sending him to the ground.  
  
"Ahhh..." He moaned before a much larger section hit Diego, knocking him out. "Diego!" Klaus tried to pull him brother free but the weight of the debris, and his current lack of strength from withdrawal made it almost impossible. "Come on, wake up, please! Diego!"  
  
Ben grabbed Diego and pulled him out.  
  
Klaus' eyes widened.  
  
"Nice!" He took his brother's weight, painfully walking them down the staircase and out of the academy.  
  
Diego groaned as he awoke, looking around at the state of the academy before smiling at Klaus, wrapping him into a hug.  
  
"You saved me! Thank you!"  
  
He looked around.  
  
"Wait, is Mom not out?"  
  
Klaus looked up to see her stood by the window of her room.  
  
Both brother's eyes widened.  
  
"Mom!" They screamed. "Mom, jump!"  
  
She waved to them before the academy fell, reduced to rubble around them.  
  
"No..."

* * *

So after that, they went to a bowling alley, found Allison with her throat cut, saved her, and made their way to the concert hall where Vanya was playing.  
  
Klaus went to walk inside but he put his hand on his brother's shoulder halting him.  
  
"No, no, no, you're not going in there."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You're the lookout."  
  
Klaus looked genuinely hurt, despite trying to play it off as a joke.  
  
"It's just because you think I'm useless." He heard his little brother whisper under his breath to himself.  
  
Diego sighed, turning to the others.  
  
"Go, I'll catch up."  
  
They nodded and ran off inside.  
  
"Klaus, you're not useless, you never have been. You've always just been Klaus, and there's nothing wrong with that." He paused. "What Dad did to you, I should've noticed and helped. And I should've done more than night when you came into my room. That was just after he locked you up, right?"  
  
Klaus looked blank as he nodded.  
  
"You need to be lookout because I don't want you getting hurt, or worse, and that's the God's honest truth." He offered a smile, patting his brother on the shoulder. "Stay here."  
  
Diego sprinted off inside the theatre.

* * *

All hope seemed lost.  
  
Lying sprawled down on the floor between the seats; Diego threw his last three knives at the approaching marksman.  
  
"Guys!" Shouted a familiar voice sending dread through his stomach. "Guys, it's Cha-Cha!"  
  
Klaus came running in.  
  
"Klaus, no!" He screamed. "Get down!"  
  
His little brother threw himself down just in time to miss the array of bullets fired towards him.  
  
Diego looked over to see Klaus' hands glowing as he stood up once again.  
  
"Klaus, what are you doing?"  
  
Suddenly, Ben appeared from the blue glow, walking around of his own accord.  
  
His eyes widened.  
  
"Holy shit, he wasn't lying."  
  
Ben screamed in rage as tentacles began to grab and kill every marksman in the theatre.  
  
He noticed Cha-Cha line up a shot on Klaus and rushed her, knocking them both backstage as they fought.  
  
"No one, does that, to my, brothers!" Diego emphasised with every punch before he heard Patch's voice in his head and he let go, stumbling backwards to his feet, leaving Cha-Cha and walking back out to his family.  
  
"You okay?" Klaus asked.  
  
"Yeah." He nodded. "Just, honouring a memory."  
  
His little brother smiled.  
  
Diego walked over and clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder.  
  
"You're one hell of a lookout."  
  
Klaus smirked.


End file.
